This invention concerns an instrument to measure the stage of cooking of pasta as set forth in the main claim.
The measuring instrument according to the invention is used in normal and everyday domestic, professional and industrial operations to verify the stage of cooking reached by the pasta, whatever form it may be, without the risk of burns, or of dropping pieces of pasta previously picked out for tasting, or of over-cooking due to forgetfulness--in short, avoiding all those problems well-known to everyone and ensuring a precise cooking to a desired stage which can be pre-set.
In the following description we shall speak of pasta cooked in water, however it is implicit that the invention may be used also for pasta or other food products cooked in broth, milk or other liquids.
Every time pasta is cooked, whatever the shape of the pasta (spaghetti, short pasta, macaroni, stuffed pasta etc.), it is necessary to bring water to the boil and then add the desired quantity of pasta.
To verify the stage of cooking the user usually refers to the time which is normally shown on the pasta box, and then possibly tastes the pasta from time to time so as to verify the progress of the cooking.
However, the cooking time shown on the box is not a safe and reliable parameter; it gives an approximate indication for an average cooking stage but it does not offer the possibility, except on a theoretical and approximate level, of obtaining personalised stages of cooking ("al dente", very "al dente", well cooked, etc.).
Moreover, this parameter is affected by external conditions which make it quite imprecise, such as the amount of salt in the water, the period of time for which the water stops boiling when the pasta is added, external humidity, the ratio of pasta to water and other factors.
However, everybody knows the problems which arise when the cook wants to taste a sample of the pasta to verify what stage of cooking it has reached: burnt hands, burnt tongue, dropped pieces of pasta, disagreement over the stage of cooking reached by the pasta and other problems.
Other times the cook may rely on a visual estimate of the inner part of the piece of pasta, but these estimates are necessarily subjective and approximate.
It should also be considered that there are many different types of pasta which differ in the type of wheat used and in the methods of working and preservation; this influences the time required for the pasta to cook and therefore involves other difficulties in any evaluation of the cooking stage based on empirical methods and/or strictly on time.
The applicant is not aware of any device able to provide users with a substantially automatic and precise indication of the stage of cooking reached by pasta, regardless of type, shape, state and time of preservation, which will prevent the user from suffering from those "classical" domestic accidents caused by tasting the pasta, and which will offer the possibility of selecting the desired degree of cooking in a completely objective and automatic way which is independent of personal and empirical evaluations.
IT-B-1.240.205 describes an instrument to measure the stage of cooking of pasta, consisting of an axially sliding hook-shaped cylinder and of a stationary part which constitutes the body of the instrument.
The hook is immersed into the liquid where the pasta is cooked and compresses a sample of pasta between itself and the stationary part of the instrument.
The force of compression of the hook is regulated by an inner spring with a variable setting.
When the pasta reaches a particular stage of cooking, with the relative loss of consistency, the force of compression of the hook is able to cut the sample of pasta; this cutting action causes a warning signal, either visual or audio, to be emitted.
This embodiment does not allow a continual measurement of the consistency of the pasta and therefore it does not allow to select, even during the cooking operation itself, different pre-determined degrees of cooking according to the tastes of the user.
For this purpose the applicant has designed, tested and embodied this invention.